LAST SATURDAY, about 50 Chevening Alumni from Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean met for a Gala Dinner at British High Commissioner Victoria Dean’s residence Benmar.
They were celebrating 30 years of the UK’s most prestigious scholarship programme.
This local event followed a VIP lunch and open house event in July at Chevening House in Kent, the home of the British Foreign Minister.
The lunch was attended by Chevening Alumni who have achieved the greatest heights, including Justice Winston Anderson a Barbados Alumnus and a judge at the Caribbean Court of Justice.
Speaking at the Gala Dinner, Victoria Dean said, “This event shows how Chevening Scholarships have enabled the leaders of the region to gain valuable skills through post-graduate study in the UK.
“Following the tripling of scholarships set out by the Chancellor in his Budget, I hope that we can encourage the brightest graduates around the region to apply to study in the UK so we can continue to build mutually beneficial and long-lasting relationships.”
Saturday’s Gala Dinner featured a short address from Shena-Ann Ince, the most recent Chevening graduate to return home, and an after dinner speech from Matthew Parker, author of The Sugar Barons and Hell’s Gorge.
Parker explained how a visit to the Kensington Oval changed his life as a teenager, and how his life in Barbados inspired his passion for the history of the region. Describing Barbados as the brightest of the jewels in the imperial crown, he showed the impact it made on British history. (PR/SAT)
